


Imbolc

by crimsonherbarium



Series: Wheel of the Year [1]
Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game)
Genre: Anal Sex, Campfires, Established Relationship, Imbolc, M/M, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Riding, Sex for Warmth, Shameless Smut, Sharing Body Heat, bathing in a sacred spring in the dead of winter is an awful idea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-02-01
Packaged: 2019-10-20 10:01:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17620349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crimsonherbarium/pseuds/crimsonherbarium
Summary: Imbolc is a pagan festival that marks the beginning of spring. It falls halfway between the winter solstice and spring equinox and is traditionally celebrated on February 1st. It is a time of renewal, feasting, ritual cleansing, and visits to holy wells.Aiden suggests the two of them take a small part in the celebrations.It goes downhill from there.





	Imbolc

**Author's Note:**

> Beta read by [raunchyandpaunchy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/raunchyandpaunchy/). I owe her my life.

"You're out of your fucking mind."

"Lambert, come on. It's tradition. You won't regret it, I promise." Aiden grinned.

"Yeah, somehow I sort of doubt that." Lambert folded his arms, eyeing the glassy surface of the half-frozen river distrustfully.

Aiden shrugged. "Fine. Ignore tradition, festivals, and gods if you must. It's been weeks since you bathed. You need this. We both do."

Lambert grimaced.

"Only for a moment," Aiden plied. "Look, the fire is blazing. It'll be easy to warm back up afterward. Trust me."

Lambert sighed through his teeth. "Fine. I'm going to regret letting you talk me into this though. I just know it."

"Won't know for sure until it's done." With a wink, Aiden jumped into the inky water, vanishing under its surface. Lambert hesitated, grinding his teeth, and then followed, swearing loudly.

He'd thought he was prepared for the cold. He was wrong. It hit him like a stone wall, making his body seize up in response. He fought the urge to gasp for air, clawing his way toward the surface so he could fill his lungs with something other than icy water.

It was too cold even to shiver, as he broke the surface and gulped air that somehow seemed warm by comparison. The ice went straight to his bones, making them feel as if they were being crushed in a vise.

Aiden grinned at him, his chestnut curls soaked through and matted to his forehead, gasping for air but somehow still managing to look as if he were enjoying this torture.

"You're a whoreson," Lambert managed to wheeze, striking out for shore. The water shallowed and his feet fought for purchase on the slippery river rock below. The night air, which had stung fiercely before his plunge, now felt like a balm on his pale and ice-barbed skin. He dragged himself to the campfire, flopping down unceremoniously on his bed roll and groaning.

Aiden, bastard that he was, stayed in the river for several minutes longer before gracefully exiting the water and joining Lambert by the fire, looking no worse for the wear.

"Fancy a drink?" He pulled a heavy glass bottle from his bag and tossed it to Lambert.

Lambert pulled the cork from its neck and sniffed it—pepper vodka. Temerian. If nothing else, it might trick him into feeling a bit warmer. He took two long draughts from the bottle, savoring the way the liquor burned its way down his throat.

"I am never. Doing that. Again," he said emphatically as he thrust the bottle back into Aiden's hand. He edged his way closer to the fire, willing the flames to chase the chill from his bones.

"You should be glad for the foul weather," Aiden said cheerfully. "Means the Cailleach is sleeping. Winter is almost over."

"Do you honestly believe in that drivel?"

Aiden shrugged. "I've seen stranger. And it never hurts to pay respects to tradition when it's called for. What's the worst that could happen?"

"I don't know, frostbite?" Lambert wiggled his toes experimentally. "Damn near froze my dick off."

Aiden snorted. "Well, we certainly can't have that. Come here, I'll warm you up."

Lambert rolled his eyes, but that didn't stop him from moving to lie beside Aiden on his bed roll. Though a few drops of frigid water had soaked from Aiden's skin into the fabric, the fire had warmed it nicely. Aiden raised a hand and smoothed Lambert's wet hair back from his face.

"Did you know you flush when you're cold?" He leaned in and planted a gentle kiss on Lambert's lips. "I find it rather attractive."

"Is that so," Lambert said hoarsely.

There were quite a lot of things he found attractive about Aiden. His lopsided grin, the tiny crinkles around his eyes when he smiled, the way the scars that dragged down the front of his throat and across his chest served only to highlight the muscle beneath. The scent of him. The way he kissed. The way he fucked—

Aiden interrupted his thoughts by seizing Lambert by the shoulders and rolling so that he was on top of him. Lambert flexed against Aiden's hands pinning his wrists to the ground. "Let me go," he growled.

"No." Aiden leaned in and bit his lip hard enough to make Lambert hiss in pain. "You want to be warm? You're going to have to do some work."

"Fuck you," Lambert spat.

Aiden threw back his head and laughed. "That's the idea, isn't it?"

Lambert took advantage of the opening to bite Aiden's exposed throat, sucking on the tender flesh hard enough to leave a violently purple bruise in his wake. He grinned at the other man's shocked intake of air, rolling them again so that he was straddling Aiden's hips.

Strangely, he already felt warmer. Aiden's skin had started out just as cold as his, but everywhere they touched heat bloomed and colored things an appealing red. He ran his hands over Aiden's chest, smirking at the feeling of the other man's stiffening cock against his thigh.

"Is this what you wanted?" he growled into Aiden's ear, grabbing both of his wrists with one hand and pinning them down as Aiden had done to him just moments earlier.

"Yes," Aiden breathed.

Lambert kissed him furiously, like he was trying to take him apart with nothing but his tongue. His own cock throbbed in response. He tangled his other hand in Aiden's hair, making a fist and tugging on it at the roots in a way that made him shudder and moan underneath Lambert.

"You knew this was going to happen," Lambert murmured in an accusatory tone against the stubbled skin of Aiden's throat. "You did this just so you could have me."

"Only half-true," Aiden gasped in response. "I meant everything I said. Having ulterior motives doesn't change that."

"You're a whoreson," Lambert said again.

Aiden chuckled. "Tell me something I don't know."

Lambert inhaled deeply, breathing in the scent of him. Juniper, omnipresent on Aiden's skin. Musk. A hint of leather from the saddle. Cool, clear water. He sucked on Aiden's skin, tugged hard on his hair at the same time. He tasted warm; of salt and musk and something Lambert found hard to describe.

Aiden's cock was hard as iron against him now, his flesh radiating heat as he rutted up against Lambert. "Where's the oil?" Lambert asked, casting his gaze around the tiny camp for the appropriate bottle.

Aiden struggled to free his wrists from Lambert's too-tight grasp, trying to reach a leather satchel that was just outside his reach.

"Oh, no. You're staying right where you are." Lambert kept him pinned as he reached for the bag with his other hand, dumping the contents unceremoniously on the ground and sifting through them until his searching fingers closed around the vial in question. Small, delicate, and filled with a golden liquid the color of honey.

He pulled the stopper out with his teeth and clumsily poured a small amount onto his fingers, reaching behind him and taking hold of Aiden's neglected cock. The other man thrust up into his hand, breathing already ragged as Lambert stroked him.

"Shit," Aiden gasped, fighting once more to free his wrists from Lambert's grasp. This time he relented, if only because he needed to shift his positioning as he lined Aiden's cock up with his ass.

Aiden whimpered, actually _whimpered_ , as Lambert slowly sank down on his cock. Lambert smirked. He was never going to let him forget that one—

The thought was quickly forgotten at the sensation of the fullness of him inside Lambert, the raw intimacy of the entire display as their golden eyes met in the darkness. Lambert felt his face flush hot and fought to suppress a groan.

"Don't," Aiden said, as if he were reading his mind. "I like to hear you." His hands roamed over Lambert's skin, the curve of his ass, the soft hair that trailed down his abdomen. He gripped Lambert by the hips with both hands and thrust up into him, slowly, gently. In a way that made Lambert feel like he was coming apart at the seams.

Aiden did it again, grazing a spot deep inside him that made his heart stutter and muscles clench. Slowly, much too slowly. This was torture.

"Fuck me." Lambert didn't suppress his groan this time. "This is unbearable."

Aiden grinned that infuriating grin of his and complied, thrusting up into Lambert as he dragged his hips down against him for friction. He set a steady rhythm that built in intensity, the two of them half-fighting with each other as their soft moans and growls intermingled with the sound of the wind rustling through the trees and wolves howling in the distance.

Lambert couldn't even remember being cold at this point. He was burning up, beads of sweat gathering at his temple as Aiden ground into him. His breath came in ragged pants, his cock throbbing in response to every thrust Aiden made. Heat pooled in his abdomen, energy building in him like a spark as he rocked his hips in time with his partner's. Every move, every stroke brought them closer, deeper—

He reached down and took his cock in hand, stroking himself in time with their movements, groaning at the sweet relief of friction against his aching flesh—

Looking down, he met Aiden's eyes. So clear and knowing, wise and yet full of humor. Soft, and filled with love. For Lambert. Only for Lambert.

That was enough to push him over the edge. He cried out, his body spasming as he came in spurts all over Aiden's stomach. The other man sped up as Lambert's body squeezed around his cock, carrying him through it, his face red and his breathing little more than grunts.

Though his effort was valiant, he lost his rhythm and suddenly he was rutting up hard into Lambert, shaking, as his mouth hung open in a wordless exclamation. He sat up, wrapping his arms around Lambert's waist as the aftershocks wracked his body, unable to do anything but breathe.

Lambert ran his hands through Aiden's hair, smoothed it back from his face. Pressed an uncharacteristically gentle kiss to his forehead. "It's alright," he said, still panting to catch his own breath. "You're alright."

It was several moments before either of them could move again, disentangling themselves from each other. Aiden looked down at the mess they'd made in dismay. "We could always take another dip in the river to wash off," he joked weakly.

"I'd rather fight a pesta." Lambert shot a murderous glance at the half-frozen water. He dug through the discarded contents of the satchel for a rag instead, tossing it to Aiden to clean himself off with.

Now that the festivities were over, the sweat on his brow felt like it was freezing to his skin. Lambert snatched the bottle of pepper vodka from where it sat by his own bedroll and crawled back into Aiden's, taking a long draught before passing it over.

"I will admit, though," he sighed as he settled in against Aiden's chest in the flickering light of the fire, "It's not a completely terrible festival."

**Author's Note:**

> This is a smutty offshoot of my chaptered Lambert/Aiden fic, [Silver for Monsters](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14533479/chapters/33579468). 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it! I'd love to hear what you thought. <3


End file.
